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HomeMy WebLinkAbout5.A.1. Temporary Quarry Lake Ski Area Improvement s: A. J. CO~~SEt~T Memorandum TO: Mayor and City Council Mark McNeill, City Administrator FROM: Jamie Polley, Director of Parks, Recreation & Natural Resources SUBJECT: Temporary Quarry Lake Ski Area Improvements DATE: October 20,2009 Introduction The City Council is asked to approve the proposal by the Shakopee-Prior Lake Waterski Association (SPLWSA) to improve the ski area of Quarry Lake. Backaround The City has an agreement with the SPLWSA for use of the Quarry Lake. As part of the agreement the SPLWSAagrees to maintain the boat launch and skiing area. The agreement requires thatthe SPLWSA receive the City's .permission to make any improvements to the Quarry Lake property even if the improvements are temporary. In addition, the water ski association bears all responsibility and expense of a II improvements to the water skiing area. The City Council recently decided that no public park improvements will be made at Quarry Lake Park until public access is obtained. The improvements that are being proposed from the SPLWSA are for the ski area only and mayor may not be included in the park design in the future. The SPLWSAhas agreed to remove the improvementsifthey do not coincide with the overall park plan. Discussion The SPLWSA is proposing to implement improvements to the skiing area that will be entirely funded and maintained by the waterski association. The proposal includes installing steps with small retaining walls leading from the gravel road down to the show dock (Attachment A, figure 2). (The show dock is the large dock with blue indoor-outdoor carpeting on it located on the west shore). These improvements stem from the difficulty the Show Team members sometime have getting down to the show dock from the gravel road. (The grade is sometimes slippery when wet, especially if carrying Show Team equipment down to the dock). The steps and wall would be made of concrete block which has been donated to the SPLWSA. The SPLWSA would use club member labor to build the steps and retaining walls. The steps would be approximately twenty-five (25) feet from the edge of the beach and each block is eighteen (18) inches wide by twelve (12) inches deep and seven (7) inches high. The SPLWSA intends to install thirteen (13) steps which will cover approximately twenty-five (25) feet ofthe hill. Attachment A describes the stairs and figure 1 provides an example ofthe proposed stairs and retaining wall. This type of wall and step feature is not likely something that the city will want to retain when the detailed design for the park is completed, however the wall and steps will be temporary and will serve the SPLWSA well in the meantime. Should the City eventually decide not to retain the Wall/Steps, the SPLWSA promises to remove them at the time of the build-out. In the meantime, the SPLWSA thinks the steps and wall will make the area safer and easier for them to use. The PRAB reviewed the improvements on September 28,2009. The PRAB recommended the improvement to the Quarry Lake skiing area with a few stipulations. The PRABdirected staff to insure the improvement did not pose any engineering concerns and could be placed within twenty-five (25) feet of the water. The attached proposal was reviewed by the City engineering staff and the staff did not have any concerns or issues with the steps or the location. Staffalso confirmed that the MN DNR did not have jurisdiction over Quarry Lake that would require additional review and permitting. At this time the City has sole jurisdiction over Quarry Lake. City Vision B. High Quality of Life Requested. Action The City Council, if concur, approve the proposal by the SPLWSA to fund and complete temporary improvements to the Quarry Lake ski area. -A-H eJ.c h n1?n f- A Quarry Lake Steps We propose to install a set of steps (approx. 25') from the edge of the beach to the driveway area that leads to the boat launch. This will be built with plans to add a retaining wall in the future as labor, materials and funds allow. Also note that we will be using landscape blocks that can easily be removed or moved as future designs are considered. Our initial plan was for more wall than steps however after checking on the blocks we have feel it will initially be more steps than walls. The block dimensions are 18" wide JIl2" deep )( 7" high. Each step would be 3 wide )( 2 deep to give each step about an area of 54"}{ 24". This will make it much easier to move equipment up and down the hill. Each step uses about 2 ft. of hill, so at about 25 feet of hill we would have about 13 steps. When using landscape blocl<s we will be burying the same amount of blocks for foundation that we would be showing. 12 per step by 13 steps is about 156 blocl<s. Any left over's would be used to build a small ledge at the bottom. We may increase the size of the wall later to improve aesthetics and help improve erosion. The picture shows the general design of the steps however our plan would be for straight rather than a curved step. - .....' ...... - - - General Area for Steps/Wall. Step. ~~f'.i:~~~' :\";;f" '; ~, , . '_A~~~~~ ,:-\ J\...L n: 1-